Open Arms for Broken Hearts
by redemptionofjames
Summary: Lily Evans, still recovering from her falling out with Severus at the end of last year, is not entirely amused when James Potter turns up in her town without any memory of who he is or what he's doing there. Nevertheless, she helps him out and they find this whole memory loss thing is more than it seems. Sort of an AU, not really.
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: **i literally have no idea what i'm doing. i know this probably would never have happened but the idea kinda popped into my head and i really wanted to explore what would happen so there you go.

**disclaimer: **i do not own the characters etc, that all belongs to jkr. the title is by elbow and has nothing to do with anything really, i just like it.

* * *

_the one where she saw him by the bus stop_

_..._

A coil of the clear, viscous gel took shape in the base of Lily's palm.

She dipped a finger through the stuff. Brushed a stroke under each eye, with a painter's precision. A stroke down the length of her nose.

The aloe vera was cooling; a pleasant feeling of relief seeing as her skin was red and peeling from sunburn. If you put a hand over it you could literally feel the heat rising off her.

The rest of the gel was distributed upon her forehead, shoulders. It felt disgusting to move with the stuff caked on, so Lily sat still, trying not to touch anything.

_A year ago, the doorbell rang._

_Lily had been expecting it, but still it came as a small surprise. She went to the door. The strange round circles sculpted into the glass, like if you froze ripples in water, distorted his image into a dark blur, but she knew it was him. In this town, who else would it be?_

"_Sev." She grinned._

"_Hi, Lily," His voice was airless, excited. He pushed hair from his face. "Ready?"_

"_As I'll ever be." Lily replied, unhooking the spare keys from their peg beside the door. "Let's get out of here."_

_Out of here constituted a sweltering bus ride into Cokeworth Centre. Lily's legs lay across several seats, flip-flopped feet dangling into the aisle. Severus sat in the seat across the aisle. Nobody minded, especially since it was just the two teenagers and the old, quiet driver. _

"_So," She said presently. "What should we do?"_

"_What's there to do in Cokeworth, anyway?" He asked, sounding bored. She couldn't blame him._

"_There's shops, and a cinema. We can see if anything good's on-"_

"_Muggle rubbish, I expect." He interrupted impatiently. "I miss Hogwarts, and being able to do magic."_

"_Yeah," She agreed. "Yeah, I do too. But, c'mon, let's go and see a film. I'll pay"_

"_Fine," He said grudgingly. "Muggle rubbish, though."_

_Lily didn't say anything. She liked the cinema._

_They stepped off the bus onto warm pavement. _

"_Or d'you wanna go Bournemouth, then? We could catch a train…?"_

"_Nah… nah, a film is fine."_

_Lily pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Strands of hair tugged at her scalp._

The clock chimed.

The clock in Lily's kitchen had birds decorating the face instead of numbers, and the corresponding bird call to mark each hour. Over the years they'd had it, Lily had learnt to recognise which birdcall meant which hour.

One o'clock, morning dove.

It was a year since she'd gone to the cinema that day with Severus, and Lily was back in her kitchen. Her face was stiff and sticky with aloe vera.

There were dirty coffee mugs everywhere, and plates littered with crumbs… she had to clean up- Lily focused on this task. She piled plates and mugs precariously in the sink, balancing cutlery on top, rinsing it all quickly. A fork slid off and into the drain.

Lily closed her eyes and had to fight back tears. Honestly. It was just a fork, a stupid fork, she could get it back. She got worked up over everything these days.

She stuck her hand down the drain, leaning into the sink so that the tips of her hair brushed through water. Her fingers groped around aimlessly, finally brushing sharp metal and drawing out the fork. It dangled from her fingertips. Lily stared at it sadly. It was a really depressing fork.

She _had_ to get out of here.

Lily placed the fork on the side of the sink.

Out of here constituted a sweltering bus ride into Cokeworth town. Alone. Lily's knees faced the back of the seat in front of her. Her cheek rested against the cool glass of the window. The bus hummed under her flipflops.

She stepped off onto the warm pavement and the bus drove away.

_A packet of crisps and a pop. _The thought offered Lily a purpose, an attractive thing at present. There was a shop round the corner, and she had money.

Lily stepped over an overturned box of takeaway, dodging blobs of spicy sauce. Something (a bird, presumably) had dragged the contents out onto the street and then gotten either bored or scared off. Serviettes stuck to chunks of curry, the clean ends fluttering like little white flags.

In the shop, Lily bought her chips and pop, exited again.

A pigeon had now taken custody of the curry. Lily grimaced as she took a left, dodged through an alley into the main street, pulling open her packet of crisps.

She thought vaguely about taking a train to Bournemouth… she'd have to have a look at transport to London anyway, as she couldn't exactly floo from the Snape's fireplace anymore.

"Lily?"

_Fuck. _ She looked up from the depths of her crisp packet.

"Get lost." Lily stepped around him, jamming a salt-encrusted finger into the crossing button. Change, change, please, she begged the light.

"Lily, can we talk? Please, I just want to-" Severus Snape said. His fingers twisted into a knot of pale skin. He was so thin- the t-shirt he wore did not quite hide his spine as he hunched over anxiously.

"No, I don't want to hear it." She said, fingers tightening round the neck of her bottle.

He dropped the cigarette he was holding, put it out under the heel of his shoe. "Lily." God, he was really pleading with her now.

"No." The stoplight switched to green. Lily walked, but he followed. She'd known he would. Her hand delved into the packet of crisps, drawing out several at once.

"Ready salted?" He asked quietly. "I thought your favourite was salt and vinegar."

"Yeah, looks like you had a lot of misconceptions about me, doesn't it?" Lily said through a mouthful of crisp.

He couldn't reply to that, obviously.

"Go home, Severus." She said, coming to a halt on the other side of the street.

"And if I don't?"

"I'll ignore you." She said simply. "Or walk into the police office and tell them there's this creepy fucker won't stop following me. It's true enough, isn't it?"

She met his gaze. "We're not friends anymore." Lily continued. His face tightened up like he was about to explode. "Go home."

The coke bottle was slippery with sweat. Lily's mouth felt dry and salty. Probably from the chips.

"Go home." She said again. He did this time.

Lily headed back to the bus stop.

* * *

When she got off the bus, James Potter was there.

He was frowning at the bus stop sign as if it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen, a crinkle of bemusement forming above the bridge of his glasses. He looked slightly dazed.

Her fingers clenched round the bottle of pop. There had been a moment of debate, when she'd only seen the back of his messy head (berk) and she thought it was him, although she wasn't absolutely _positive_ until he turned and she _knew_ the nose, the mouth that was not (for once) twisted into that cocksure grin, the glasses framing hazel eyes. It was definitely him.

Now that was settled, what was he doing here? In Cokeworth, in _her_ town. He and Cokeworth were so fundamentally different, so removed from each other within Lily's mind that he looked like an oddity, probably stranger than if a fucking UFO had landed in the middle of town centre.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped.

She had no idea what would come out of his mouth, but it didn't matter. James Potter had exactly two connections to this place, and since one of them took the blood purist form of the person he hated most, she was prepared to bet it was the other one. Her. Lily Evans was the reason James Potter was wondering round Cokeworth looking as though he'd been bonked on the head with a heavy object.

He turned at the sound of her voice. She waited for him to grin, or ruffle his hair or chuck some comment at her.

All she got was a brief flicker of something in his eyes- recognition, mixed with puzzlement, as if he knew but couldn't place her exactly.

"Hi," He said. His voice sounded strange, like it'd lost something important. "D'you know where I am?"

"You're in my town, fuckwit." She was not in the mood to deal with James Potter today. "What are you doing here?"

James frowned. "Look, princess, sorry if I offended you by... talking, alright, but I'd really like to know where the hell I am."

"Cokeworth." Lily snapped, wondering what game he was playing. "What do you want? I assume it's me you're here for, since you would never willingly go near Severus and you don't know anyone else in this town-"

"Hold on- you _know me?_ You know who I am?"

"What's this all about, then, Potter?"

"Potter." He turned the word around and around like a kid with an interesting new toy. "Funny name. Anyway, just listen, alright? I woke up, middle of somewhere, and my memory was completely blank. I remember facts and things, but everything I've done, everywhere I've been, everyone I know- that's all gone."

Lily stared at him impassively. His little speech had bounced off her, hail on metal sheeting, barely leaving a dent. "Very funny. Black put you up to this?"

"What? No, it's not a prank or a joke or anything. Would I lie about something like this?"

"Yes." She said, and turned to go because it seemed like a sassy place to exit the conversation.

"Wait," he said. "I don't remember you, not exactly, but there's _something…_ I think you were important. Are we- friends?" Even Lily noticed the hitch of breath before 'friends'. There was an awkward and irritable pause.

"No," She said. "We couldn't really stand each other to be honest. Look, Potter, points for creativity and all that, but I really don't need this right now."

"I can prove I'm telling the truth!" He said. "Ask me something only I wouldn't know."

"What? That doesn't even make any sense." Lily could feel definite signs of an oncoming headache.

"Look, I am not fucking around here, I _swear_." James sounded so serious that she stopped, uncertain. "I don't particularly want to be in this piece of shit town with no memory any more than you apparently want me, so couldn't you just do us both a favour and help me out?"

This was unbelievable. And bloody typical! Of course it had to be _her _town he wandered into in his amnesiac state. She supposed that she believed him, then- even James Potter wasn't that skilled at acting.

"OK, fine. We'll contact… Black, how about? He'll want to help you out, at least. And once you get your memory back I'll kill you. Alright?"

"Alright." He said, seriousness evaporating despite the death threat. "Who's this Black fellow anyway? And have we _all _got such awful names?" He grimaces. "Potter… What's my surname?"

"That _is_ your surname. Your first name's James." Lily replied, indicating which way they should go. She started walking, quickly, and he followed.

"James. That sounds marginally better. So we all call each other by surnames, do we? Seems a bit... formal."

"Like I said, we don't exactly get on."

"I dunno, the surname thing's sort of edgy. What do I call you?"

"Evans, mostly." Lily replied. "My name's Lily, though, and you've been known to employ more colourful epithets."

He tilted his head, the beginnings of that cocky smile she knew and hated forming. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, like 'ginger', and 'red'."

James laughed appreciatively. "Colourful. Very funny."

They picked their way across the old train tracks towards the hill. The now-unused tracks were overgrown with grass and coated in rust. Years ago, they'd rerouted the railway to go through the centre of town, by the hotel.

"Down there's Spinner's End." When they reached the best viewpoint on the hill, she indicated the haphazard collection of buildings, darkened and framed by smog from the nearby factories. "Bad part of town, if you like. 'S where Severus lives." Her thoughts soured as they did when they turned to Snape. If she was to make a bad analogy, she might say her one-time-friend was the factory smog to the Spinner's End in her mind.

Something of this gloomy thought must have shown on her face, because James asked: "So this Severus a bit of a wanker, is he?"

"What?"

"I mean, you said before that I didn't like him, and when you mentioned him a second ago you looked like you were reliving a brutal war or something." He said, causing her to immediately rearrange her facial expression. "It's got to be for some reason."

Lily kicked a stone down the grassy hillside. "Our reasons are different. I don't know what yours is, but mine is private." She didn't mention that it wasn't exactly private at all since the whole fucking school was aware.

"Fair enough." He dropped it, which was a bit of a shock since it was so uncharacteristic of him.

"Let's keep going." Lily said.

She was fairly certain the Potters had a manor or something else grand and expensive, but at least he wouldn't remember enough to compare his house with hers. It wasn't as though the Evans home was the worst in the area, but it wasn't much to speak of.

"There's the park." Lily said as they passed it.

"Didn't realise I was getting the grand tour in the bargain." James said. He kept stealing sideways glances at her.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped when she could no longer stand it.

"Sorry, it's just-" James seemed to be at a loss for the right words. "It really feels like- it doesn't feel like I dislike you. I mean, that Sniverus bloke, whatever his name is, even hearing about him is sort of… discomforting, you know? But there's something else with you."

She didn't know what to say to that, because what the hell does one say to something like that?

"And I don't see why I'd dislike you, either." He continued. "I mean, you're well funny, and you're clever, gorgeous…I'm sort of- I'm sort of kicking myself for not getting on with you, to be honest."

Lily felt her face heat up, which was really rather annoying. "I don't like some of the things you do." She said, carefully. "And the way you act most of the time. And the fact that you-"

"Alright, don't be in such a hurry to tell me how big a prick I am." He interrupted. "I'm sorry for doing things, I s'pose. And when I get back to normal I'll try and behave. Honest."

"Behave? You don't even know what that word means." Lily snorted.

James nodded. "Y'know, I had a feeling I was a rebel."

She almost laughed but managed to hold onto decency.

* * *

"So how much of your memory is gone, exactly?" Lily plopped down on the settee next to James, handing him a beer. Her dad had left a few in the fridge, obviously trusting that Lily wouldn't drink them but honestly.

"Thanks. Er, basically all of it. Or all of it that has something to do with me." James said. "I mean, I know stuff, like this is England and treacle tart is a rather excellent dessert, but when it comes to me I just go blank. Oh, and…." He frowned, lowered his voice. "I'm magic. It doesn't seem that strange really but nobody else seems to be."

"Well, this _is_ a muggle town."

"Non-magic." James nodded. "And you? Are you magical?"

"I am." Lily replied. "So you remember stuff about magic, do you? Like Hogwarts and who's Minister for Magic and things?"

"Sort of… when it comes to magic it gets a little hazy, but… it's there." He fiddled with his beer, picking at the edges of the label. "D'you think it was magic that did this to me?"

"Probably." She shrugged. "Maybe a spell gone wrong. Or it could've been on purpose."

"You mean, I did this to myself because I wanted to forget something?" Pondered James. "What could I want to forget that badly?"

"Maybe you looked in the mirror."

"Funny."

"It could have been someone else." Lily ventured.

They thought about that in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: **I have a bit more of an idea of where I'm going with this now. also i decided to alternate lily and james perspectives. thanks for reading, reviews are lovely.

**disclaimer:** nothing is mine

* * *

_the one where train wrecks are not exactly accidental_

_..._

It went without saying that losing your memory was a terrible thing, but James felt as though he'd pinpointed perhaps the worst thing about it. If he was being honest with himself, he had no idea who he was. Not really. Lily had told him things, of course, but the things she described felt as though they'd been lived by another person entirely. James Potter, absolute bastard, troublemaker, Gryffindor, stuck-up Quidditch hero whose four close friends knew him as 'Prongs' (what the ever-loving fuck?)... it all seemed so removed from the body and the mind he now had. Had he really outscored the snitch in the last Quidditch match of the year, when now he could only vaguely remember the rules for the stupid sport?

The discovery, also, that he'd made earlier that morning after coming out of the shower was a bit worrying. James Potter, apparently, could turn into a fucking stag (which explained Prongs at least). He'd just been thinking about the little china deer Lily's family kept on the bathroom shelf, changing into the least stodgy of Lily's dad's clothing, and then he'd changed species entirely. It was probably safe to assume that Lily didn't know about his ability since she hadn't mentioned anything of the sort. The Serious bloke who was s'posed to come get him might know, and could possibly offer some sort of fucking explanation. After trotting round the bathroom for a while in escalating panic, James had managed to turn back somehow. Thank fuck, because that would have been a hell of a tricky thing to explain to Lily.

"No reply still." Lily appeared thoroughly brassed off, which was understandable. James wouldn't exactly want an arrogant bastard etc etc staying in his house either. He might've even tossed him out before now. Although, technically since he (the arrogant bastard) lived there full time that point was sort of moot. "It's definitely reached him by now, there's no owl more efficient than Yorick."

"Your friends don't exactly seem concerned about your situation, do they?" She crossed her arms over her stomach, turned from the window to face him. She really was gorgeous. James couldn't remember any specific girls her age, only a general image of girlhood, but he was certain she was probably one of the prettiest he'd ever met. "Strange, really, you always seemed so close. Was it all just a pretense?"

"How should I know?" He didn't think so. If The Real James Potter's friends knew he had a secret double-life as a ruminant mammal and bestowed upon him relevant nicknames, they were probably all fairly chummy. "Look, if he hasn't responded by now, shouldn't we head to London and see if we can find the wizard hospital?" What was it called again? St. Minges. Hold on, definitely not. "St. Mungo's."

"I don't know where it is." Lily said.

"Me neither, but we could try asking someone in Diagon Alley."

She nodded, accepting the plan. "Coming?"

"Nah, I think I'll stay here." James joked, eliciting a small but definite smile. Such a nice smile. He decided he liked making her smile. He briefly wondered if The Real James Potter liked making her smile, but then remembered that arsehole only seemed to make her unhappy.

* * *

"What d'you mean, there's no trains?" Lily demanded. Anger positively radiated off her in waves. The poor spotty youth on the other side of the ticket window looked terrified for his life, and James didn't really blame him. "There's _always_ trains to London."

"Er- no, there's been an- an accident, up by Winton." Stammered the vendor. "Train just completely derailed. They've stopped all the trains round South-East Dorset."

"Accident?" James repeated.

"Yeah, yeah- nobody was killed, luckily, but it was pretty nasty-"

"How the hell are we s'posed to get to London then?"

"Er- I-" It was obvious the vendor didn't have an answer, and Lily wheeled around in disgust.

"Let's go!" She said, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the station.

As they walked Lily seemed to cool off, replaced by determination. Somehow, James realised that she was steeling herself for something, although he wasn't sure what for. They passed a corner shop, and takeaway strewn in the street in front of it, along with some birds squabbling for it.

"Eurgh, I can't believe nobody's cleared that up yet." Lily scrunched up her nose in disgust.

The more James stared at the bird battlefield, the more something seemed... off. It was all a mess of feathers and chunks of lamb, but it also was awfully bloody. And was that an entrail? There was one rather large bedraggled bird in the centre, James noticed, that wasn't moving at all.

"Murderous birds you've got in your town." He commented to Lily.

"What?"

"They're killing each other, look."

Lily grimaced, approached the scene of the crime tentatively. The birds scattered at her approach, except of course for…

"Oh, god." Lily's hands flew to her mouth in horror.

"What?" She didn't reply. "What is it, Lily?"

She pointed at the dead bird. "It's Yorick." She said miserably. "It's my owl."

James's first thought was 'if he didn't get the letter, Serious Black could still be decent', because he was a selfish prick apparently. The letter in question seemed to have blown away because it was nowhere in sight. "Lily, I'm so- I'm sorry."

"Mary and Marlene bought me that owl." Lily said. "I used to make Shakespeare jokes at him, you know-" She held a hand out. "Alas, poor Yorick."

"How did this happen?" She asked, staring at the sky as if it might rain answers. "How did my owl just fall out of the sky? It's like… like…"

"Magic?" James said, grimly.

Lily scoffed at that. "Don't be daft. The only wizards for miles are the Snapes- Severus's family."

"Severus. The Severus who we all hate." James said, raising an eyebrow.

She only pushed the notion away. "No, Severus wouldn't. He may be the equivalent of a sack of shite, but he's been trying to get back in my good books since last term. I don't see how murdering my owl helps with that."

_Back_ in her good books. Once, Severus Snape had been in Lily's good books. Had James Potter ever been in her good books? James briefly wondered if Snape was attractive.

Lily looked down at Yorick again, her eyes full of sadness and- fuck, was that a tear? He suddenly felt immensely guilty- if he hadn't lumped his predicament on her, her owl would probably still be alive.

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"If I find out you did this memory thing to yourself, then you'll be sorry." He was inclined to take that threat seriously. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

As they walked James noticed the houses getting shabbier and the streets getting narrower and darker. Scrawny cats clawed at overflowing rubbish bins, there was graffiti sprinkled around various buildings, several of which were boarded up/falling down.

"Spinner's End." He stated.

"How'd you know?"

"Yesterday you said it was the bad part of town. Where Severus lives."

"Do you remember _everything _I say?"

"There's not a lot else I've got to remember." James pointed out. "I've got plenty of available space for new memories. Why are we in Spinner's End again?"

Lily took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Look, we're going to Severus's house, see if we can use his fireplace to floo to London."

A flux of mixed emotions hit James at that revelation. On the one hand, he was about 99.9% certain that he despised Severus and didn't particularly long for his company. On the other, Severus was another figure from the past he'd forgotten, another part of who he was supposed to be. Besides, he had to see if the tosser was more attractive than him or not. The good seemed to outweigh the bads.

"Alright, then."

Looking surprised at his lack of argument (obviously he really really hated this guy), Lily indicated an alley. "Down here."

Round the corner there was a door, and upon this door Lily knocked.

The person who opened the door was presumably not Severus, as she was a sour-looking woman with thin iron hair framing her face. She gave them a surly once-over, then turned and yelled into the gloom of her house "Severus! That _girl_ is here with some bloke!" Lily and James exchanged a grimace at their respective descriptions.

"It's alright, Severus is 'that nasty boy' at my house." Lily said after Snape's mother had sat them down on a grubby sofa and left the room.

"And what am I?" James asked, jokingly.

"I think you're 'the kid Lily used to whinge about in her letters home'." She replied. "Believe me, though, it's taken me a long time to convince my dad I don't fancy you."

He couldn't resist a grin, and she went slightly pink.

"I'll bet you _did _fancy me." His mood was suddenly a stark contrast to the depressingly dank Snape home.

"You are so full of yourself." Her heart wasn't in the indignation, as she was obviously fighting a smile.

"Yeah, and you liked it."

"I did not fancy you!" There was a moment's pause. "Much."

Honestly there was probably (in James's opinion) no better time for Severus Snape to enter the scene.

Lily spied him first, sobering up at once.

James realised he'd worried needlessly. Severus was sallow, stringy, dark- his hair was even worse than his mother's because of a greasy quality. It was petty, extremely so, but James felt slightly relieved. Snape just looked downright _unpleasant._ Even James's deer form was more attractive than him.

Lily stood up, smoothing her trouser legs anxiously. "Hi, Sev." Sorry to-"

(_Sev?)_

"I thought we weren't friends." He said, his eyes roving from Lily to James. There was only the merest flicker of surprise before they darkened in anger.

"We're not friends." Lily replied. "We just need-"

This was shit, he was making her ask this guy she hated for help on his behalf. He stood up too.

"No," He said, standing up. "_I_ need your help. We need to get to London."

Sev's lips curled in a sneer. Merlin, he hated this prick. "What's _he_ doing here?" It was derisive, pointedly addressed to Lily.

"Marlene had an accident." Lily lied without hesitation. "He volunteered to come and get me because he's an idiot." There were obvious holes in their story, and everyone present knew it.

"Right." Snape said, making a small noise of disbelief. James had never wanted to punch anyone so badly. Well, he probably had and just didn't remember. "What am I s'posed to do about that?"

"Let us use your fireplace." Lily said. "C'mon, Sev, you owe me that much at least."

Severus's face shifted almost imperceptibly. James really did not like all this 'Sev' business.

James turned to Lily, said quietly so Severus couldn't hear: "Look, if he's as big a twat as he seems, I don't think all should be forgiven just to help me."

She snorted, not bothering to lower her voice. "Believe me, he'll need a lot more than a free floo trip in order to forgive what he's done."

James glanced up to gauge Snape's reaction to that, but he'd left the room. He returned a few seconds later, looking bitter.

"You can't." He said. "Someone's disconnected our floo. I don't know how it happened, my father's been trying to make it work all day-"

Something seemed off, but James couldn't figure it out. He glanced at Lily. Her expression was stormy

"Fine. Let's go, James." She grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door.

* * *

"This can't be a coincidence." Lily said outside the Snape's house. "First the train, then Yorick, now Severus's floo is mysteriously disconnected- this is all deliberate. Someone doesn't want you getting to London."

"You reckon that's the same someone who did my memory?" James knew where she was headed.

"You must've… seen something, or figured something out, and they wiped your memory and don't want you getting it back."

"Why'd they get rid of my whole memory?" Asked James.

"Maybe they're just rubbish at spells."

Lily sounded furious, and he didn't blame her. "Look, thanks for your help, but I shouldn't drag you into this anymore. I'll get to London on my own."

"Oh no you won't." Lightning crackled in her every word. "This is personal now. They killed my owl. They stopped the South East Dorset rail, which means I can't go shopping in Bournemouth for the rest of the week. This is bloody personal. They involved Lily Evans in this, the fucker's going to _pay_."

Fuck, he loved this girl.

Lily scanned the area critically, looking for something. James didn't ask because she still looked too angry to tolerate questions. Finally, she pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at a nearby car, a battered mustard-yellow affair. The doors swung open and the engine thudded to life.

"You're mental." James said, earning him a glare.

"We'll bring it back when we're done." Lily said, slamming the doors shut and starting to back the car up. A great cloud of fumes reared up behind them.

"Couldn't we have nicked something a bit more functional?" James asked, trying not to breathe in too much.

"Our options were limited. We can only do magic round the Snape's house, otherwise the Trace will pick it up." She replied, eyes trained on the rearview mirror. "The underage magic detector."

"What, it picks up all sorts of magic?" James said nervously. He had turned into a stag right in the middle of Lily's bathroom, he didn't want to get her in trouble for that. He didn't want _himself_ to get in trouble for that.

"Most." She said. "If it's a spell that's permanently in effect, and you just activate it, or if you use a magical item…"

"So for example, an animagus. That's a permanent spell, right?"

"Yeah. Aren't you s'posed to be the transfiguration master?" James shrugged in response, although it made sense that he could become an animagus if he was really a transfiguration master. He could remember a lot of it if he focused. "But underages can't be animagi anyway, so it's sort of already illegal."

Oh. That bit he hadn't remembered.

Lily slammed on the gas and they shot away. Well, maybe trundled. Trundled slowly.


End file.
